kingdom · Maritime Southeast Asia

Kingdom of Mengwi

1700 CE – 1891 CE (approx.) · capital Mengwi

Powerful 18th-century kingdom of southern Bali, builder of the moated royal temple of Taman Ayun, destroyed by its neighbours in 1891.

Origins

Mengwi was founded around 1700 by I Gusti Agung Putu, a noble who broke away from the declining Gelgel order and built a new realm in the rice lands of south-central Bali. Through war and marriage alliances it became one of the strongest Balinese states of the 18th century.

Rule and society

The rulers dominated an extensive network of irrigation societies and temple congregations, and their state temple, Pura Taman Ayun, surrounded by moats, expressed royal claims to fertility and order. In the 18th century Mengwi also held Blambangan in eastern Java for a time. Power depended on shifting loyalties of vassal lords.

Decline and legacy

Rivalries with neighbouring courts wore the kingdom down, and in 1891 a coalition of neighbouring courts led by the Kingdom of Badung and the Kingdom of Tabanan conquered Mengwi and divided its lands. Taman Ayun is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Mengwi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-mengwi
MLA
“Kingdom of Mengwi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-mengwi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Mengwi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-mengwi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Mengwi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-mengwi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻